And, strangely, the elected official who may be showing the way is U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.

Sen. Toomey has developed a reputation for being among the most conservative members of the Senate. But he has shown signs that he is able, on occasion, to check his ideology at the door to get things done — even if those things ultimately fail and he attracts criticism from the fellow conservatives for even making the attempt.

The first sign came earlier this year when he joined with West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in an attempt to get gun control legislation passed. The bill failed — an almost inexplicable failure considering its measures were widely supported by the public — but still, Sen. Toomey made the effort.

In the deeply divided atmosphere of Washington, he deserves some credit for that.

And now, Sen. Toomey has played a key role in moving closer to passage the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

It seems odd that, in 2013, this is even an issue. The protection of the law should have been extended to gay and transgender Americans years ago. It seems like a no-brainer.

But the bill faced tough opposition, predictably, along party lines.

This week, Sen. Toomey broke with ideological orthodoxy and voted to move the bill to a vote.

His change of heart to support the legislation gave the bill the necessary votes to avoid a filibuster, clearing the way for its passage in the Senate.

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His support did not come without strings attached, though. He did push for an amendment to strengthen the exemption in the bill for religious institutions. The bill already contains such protections; he was seeking to expand them. The amendment failed, but Sen. Toomey still voted in favor of the bill “to help move the legislative process forward,” he said in a prepared statement.

All of this may be moot, though.

The bill appears to be dead-on-arrival in the House of Representatives, the place all legislative action apparently goes to die these days.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has expressed his opposition to the bill, as have a large number of House conservatives, claiming that it would harm businesses and cost jobs.

Yet, according to FactCheck.org, those concerns are not reality-based. Many large corporations already have nondiscrimination policies that extend to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Some states have expanded their laws to cover these groups. And it hasn't cost jobs, studies have shown.

Both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and small business associations support the bill. It is a civil rights issue, plain and simple, and expanding civil rights is a good thing.

So, once again, it appears Sen. Toomey's attempt to show that he can compromise and work with senators across the aisle may be for naught.

And that's a shame. Let's hope it doesn't discourage him from continuing to try.